Apparatus for dispensing sealing strips or the like



May 28, 195.7

J. D. NIXON Filed Feb. 19, 1954 APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING SEALING STRIPSOR THE vLIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet l J. D. NlXON May 2s, 1957 PPARATUS FORDISPENSING SEALING STRIPS OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1954 s sheets-sheet2 ET l 1 l ,2

'as (as J. D. NIXON May 28,v 1957 APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING SEALINGSTRIPS OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United seresPatent@ APPARATUS FOR DISPENSNG SEALUJG STRIPS OR THE LIKE ApplicationFebruary 19, 1954, Serial No. 411,516

Claims priority, application Great Britain February 20, 1953 1 claim.(ci. :1i- 2.4)

FFhe present invention relates to an apparatus for dispensing sealingstrips or the like which may consist of paper, plastic material oranother thin and exible material. Such apparatus are commonly used forthe delivery of sealing strips for packages which are advancedsuccessively whereby an adhesive tape of paper or the like is unwoundfrom a roll and moistened and cut into strips above the package to thesealing end of which the operator then attaches and smooths the adhesivestrip manually.

The gummed side of the tape should not, after the moistening, come intocontact with any other member of the machine nor the operators hands.Since the at band, especially after it has been moistened, is veryexible and likely to bend it is, however, in the use of apparatus of thekind hitherto known, diicult or impossible to overcome said drawbackunless the apparatus has a pincher which grips the free end of the tapeand draws it to the required position and then releases it. Thereby thegripper will, however, be sticky or it will prevent the moistening ofthe end of the tape and, furthermore, it will get in the way of theoperator.

Said inconveniences are overcome by the present invention. Thus, the cutstrip will without the aid of any gripping device and without bending befed to the sealing position even though it has then been moistened alongits entire length, that is, from the edge of one of its ends to the edgeof the other end so that it will also at its ends be effectively andsmoothly applied adhesively to the package. The operators hands will notcome in contact with the sticky side of the tape and the frequentwashing of hands hitherto necessary in manual sealing operations willnot be required.

Thus, the apparatus has, according to the invention, a forming orshaping device located in the path of travel of the tape and adapted toimpart to the tape a substantially curved profile by bending it, that isto say, creasing it longitudinally. Said forming or shaping device mayconsist of two co-operating rollers, one of which has a convex orwedge-shaped profile, while the other has a concave or channel-shapedprole, the concave `or channel-shaped profile being convenientlysomewhat flatter than the convex or wedge-shaped prole. Thus, as thetape advances between said forming rollers it is bent and creasedlongitudinally into an upwardly concave trough extending in thedirection of advance.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the invention by way ofexample, Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the front side of theapparatus and Fig. 2 is an elevational view of its rear side. Fig. `3shows a vertical section on the line IIl--III of Fig. 2. Figs. 4 and 5are elevational views on the lines lV--IV and V-V, respectively, of Fig.1.

The gummed tape B is unwound from a roll 1 and conveyed around a guideroller 2 and over a guide roller 3 and further between two rollers 4 and5 and thereafter past a guillotine 6 and a tape moistening brush 7.

The rollers 4 and 5 act as feed rollers as well as a 2,793,856 PatentedMay V28, 1957 n ICC tape forming or shaping device. The upper roller 4Vhasla wedge-shaped prolle (Fig. 3) and the profile of the lower roller 5is channel-shapedor V-shaped with a somewhat larger angle than. theroller 4. The roller 4 is ,secured to a shaft 57 which is rotatablymounted in a block 56 and to which is secured a gear wheel 8 whichmeshes with a gear 'wheel 9.A The gear wheel 9 is secured to a shaft 10which is parallel to and positioned right below the shaft 57 androtatably mounted in a boss 11 on the frame 17. On the shaft 10 arerotatably mounted a pinion 12 and an arm 13 secured to the latter. Tothe'arm 13 is pivoted a pawl 14 which engages yieldingly a ratchet wheel15 secured to the shaft 10. The pinion 12 meshes with a toothed segment18 rotatably mounted on a pin 16 in the frame 17 and connected to an arm20 by means of a link 19. The arm 20 is by means of a tensionspring 47connected to the frame 17 and pivoted to a pin 21 in the frame 17 and ithas a roller 37 engaging a cam 22 which is secured to a drive shaft 23mounted in the frame 17.

The block 56 is slidably mounted in a vertical guide 24 in the frame 17.A manually operable nut 25 is with a slight vertical play inserted in anupper portion 26 of the guide 24. Into thehnut 25 is insertedv a screw27 which has an annular flange 28 which constitutes an upper shoulderengaging a helical compression spring 29 the certain degree correspondsto the profile of the roller 5.

Upon the guide block 30 is yieldingly positioned another block 30ahaving at its lower side a convex profile adapted to the concave iproleof the block 30 so that a shallow U-shaped guide s1ot 52 (Fig. 4) forthe tape can be formed between both the blocks. Behind the block 30,that is, further on in the tape feeding direction, is the guillotine 6positioned which contacts with an end portion 31 of the block 30constituting a ledger member. Further on in the tape feeding directionthe brush 7 is arranged on a water container 46 secured to the frame 17The brush 7 has, according to Fig. 5, the same profile as the guideblock 30 (Fig. 4).

The guillotine 6 has two downwardly extending arms 55 by means of whichit is by a pair of tension springs 32, secured to the block 30, held inengagement with the ledger member 31 and its edge 33 has an invertedV-shape '(Fig. 4). The guillotine 6 is at a pin 34 pivotally conv39rotatably mounted in the frame 17. The upward swing of the arm 38 islimited by an abutment 51 on the frame. To the spindle 39 is securedanother arm 40 which by means of a link 41 is connected to an arm 44rotatably mounted on a pin 42 in the frame. To the [pin 42 is pivotedanother arm 43 which under the influence of a blade spring 53 on the arm44 is held in engagement with a shoulder 54 on the arm 44. The jointbetween the arms 43 and 44 will consequently form a toggle point atwhich the arm 43 can swing upwardly relative to the arm 44.

In the operation of the apparatus the continually revolving shaft 23 andthe spring 47 reciprocate the toothed segment 18. When the toothedsegment occupies 'the position shown in Fig. 2 the guillotine 6 is heldin the raised position shown in Fig. 4. When the toothed segment isswung in the direction 6 (Fig. 2) it will by ing the swing of thesegment 18 in the direction C the pinion 12 and the arm 13 with its pawl14 will be driven in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2) so that thepawl slides over the teeth of the ratchet wheel 15. Thereby the roller45 will be moved past the free end of the Kdownwardly deviating arm 43and then the spring 36, having been ltensioned during the downwardmovement of the guillotine 6, will return the guillotine to its topposition.

` When the toothed segment 18 is swung back in the direction F into theposition shown in Fig. 2 the roller 45 is moved past the arrn 43 therebyyielding upwardly and the pinion 12. with the arm 13 and the pawl 14 aredriven in a clockwise direction. Thereby the pawl 14 drives the ratchetwheel 15 to rotate the shaft. 10 and the gear Wheel 9 in a clockwisedirection (Fig. 2) so that the rollers 4 and 5 will be driven in thedirections of the arrows shown in Fig. l. Thereby the tape B is advancedthrough one step whereby the rollers 4 and 5 bend and crease the tapelongitudinally into the V-shaped prole and the tape is moved betweenguide members, and then with its convex gummed side downwardly over themoist brush 7 whereby a considerable length of the tape having beenreinforced by its transverse curvature and its longitudinal crease can,without bending, protrude freely above a package onto which it isapplied as a sealing strip after having been cut off in the mannerdescribed.

I claim:

In a tape dispensing apparatus, a lower tape shaping roller providedwith an annular peripheral groove, having a sharp angle at its center,an upper tape-shaping roller having a peripheral portion ofsubstantially wedge shape in cross section and projecting into saidgroove of said lower roller, the angle of the wedge of said upper rollerbeing slightly Shar-per than the angle of said groove, and said rollersproviding between themselves a thin but laterally widening crooked slitfor the tape advancing therebetween so that the apex of the wedge ofsaid upper roller presses the portion of the tape passing therebeneathagainst the bottom of said groove of the bottom roller more forcefullythan the rest of said tape is pressed to bend said most strongly pressedportion of said tape sharply and crease it into a V-shaped troughextending longitudinally of said tape.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS

